The Development Bureau announced today (January 31) that the first two Dedicated Rehousing Estates (DREs) projects under construction by the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), namely Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen (Phase 1) DRE project in Yuen Long and Pak Wo Road DRE project in Fanling, will be completed for intake progressively starting from the fourth quarter of this year, providing rehousing flats for eligible households affected by government development clearance in the New Territories.  The HKHS will put the subsidised sale flats of the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen (Phase 1) DRE project (Eminence Terrace I) up for sale first, and will notify relevant households starting from today that they may apply. 

     A DRE is a designated rehousing option for households affected by government development clearance. Eligible households may choose to be rehoused to the subsidised sale flats or subsidised rental flats of DREs without going through a means test.  The two aforementioned projects will provide a total of 996 subsidised sale flats and 885 subsidised rental flats. Details are set out in the Annex.

     Eminence Terrace I will be open for application from February 15 to March 6 this year. The HKHS and the Lands Department will issue letters starting from today to the households eligible for application (namely, (i) households who have moved out from development areas and been rehoused at transitional rental housing units of the HKHS or the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA); and (ii) households currently residing within the development areas of projects having commenced the process of granting compensation and rehousing (Note)) to inform them of the application arrangements and details.

     As for the subsidised sale flats of the Pak Wo Road DRE project in Fanling, the HKHS plans to put them up for sale in the second quarter of this year. For subsidised rental flats of the aforementioned two projects, flat allocation is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of this year. Nearer that time, the HKHS and the Lands Department will issue letters again to notify relevant households for their consideration to apply. 

     Taking into account the two aforementioned projects, the DRE projects under construction in the New Territories (i.e. various phases of Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen DRE in Yuen Long, Fanling Pak Wo Road DRE and Kwu Tung North Area 24 DRE) will provide a total of around 6 700 flats (including around 2 300 subsidised rental flats and around 4 400 subsidised sales flats) to meet the rehousing demand of the households affected by development clearance projects. With the progressive completion of these DREs (from the fourth quarter of this year to not later than 2027-28 based on current estimates) and the flat supply being sufficient to cover the eligible affected households, the Government will arrange rehousing for households to the DREs directly upon their departure from development areas. By then, the transitional arrangement of arranging affected households to reside in transitional rental housing units of the HKHS and the HA shall cease accordingly.

Note: For the applicable project list, please refer to the website of the Lands Department (www.landsd.gov.hk/doc/en/land-acq-clearance/land-resumption-clearance/hkhs-dedicated-rehousing-estates/Cat2.pdf).

Ends/Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Issued at HKT 19:38

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